President Donald Trump announced Saturday that a planned trip by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior adviser Jared Kushner to Islamabad, Pakistan has been cancelled. The delegation had been scheduled to participate in talks related to the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, following an announcement by the White House the previous day that the two officials would travel to engage directly with Iranian counterparts.
The cancellation occurred shortly after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concluded a brief visit to Pakistan and departed the country. The Iranian delegation, which was described by statements from the Pakistani governments as small, departed Saturday morning after a series of meetings with Pakistani officials.
While an unnamed Pakistani government source predicted a “breakthrough” in talks between the U.S. and Iran despite the departure, the Iranian delegation stated that no meeting with U.S. officials would occur over the weekend.
In response, President Trump told Fox News that the planned trip for the U.S. delegation had been cancelled. “I’ve told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18-hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing,’” he said.
The planned U.S. delegation was part of ongoing efforts to hold a second round of face-to-face or indirect negotiations in Pakistan, which has served as a venue for prior U.S.-Iran discussions. Earlier in the week, the White House had confirmed that Witkoff and Kushner would lead the effort in place of Vice President JD Vance, who had participated in the initial round of talks.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the envoys were being sent “to hear the Iranians out” following requests from Pakistani officials, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
The planned meeting was designed to hammer out a more lasting ceasefire agreement after President Trump announced an indefinite extension earlier this week. While the ceasefire remains fragile, the two sides have maintained a number of sticking points on a lasting peace deal, including the Iranian nuclear program, potential sanctions relief and the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
